Ignoring refugee plight “tragedy and crime”, says Ai Weiwei ahead of opening of huge new work in Prague

A major new exhibition by the Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei opens
in Prague on Thursday evening. The show is centred around an enormous
recreation of a lifeboat highlighting the plight of refugees – and Ai
told reporters that Europe’s handling of the crisis raised major
questions surrounding its values.

'Law of the Journey', photo: CTK
A huge hall at the National Gallery’s Trade Fair Palace is now home to
Law of the Journey, a 70 metre long reimagining of a lifeboat carrying
refugees, who are also made of rubber and have blank faces.

It is just one of a number of works on show by Ai Weiwei, the world famous
Chinese artist and dissident who in recent times has been focused on
Europe’s migrant crisis.

Indeed, Law of the Journey is his biggest piece yet addressing the issue.
Speaking to journalists ahead of its unveiling, Ai said the rubber used
had
come from China – and also reflected the refugee situation.

“We worked with a factory to make this – the best factory for
boats.
We asked them where they were selling those boats – suddenly they were
selling so many boats – and they said Turkey. We see hundreds of
thousands of boats coming in and they come from China. So we had the same
company do this work.”

The artist also said that Europe’s handling of the migrant crisis asked
major questions of the continent’s values.

“If we see somebody who has been victimised by war or is
desperately
trying to find a peaceful place… if we do not accept those people, the
real challenge and the real crisis does not concern the people who feel
the
pain but rather the people who refuse to recognise it, or pretend that
it doesn’t exist. That is both a tragedy and a crime. I think it is
immoral for people who are fortunate not to help others.”

'Law of the Journey', photo: CTK
Law of the Journey was commissioned by Jiří Fajt, the director of the
National Gallery. Given the critical view many Czechs seem to take toward
asylum seekers, did he anticipate any negative reactions to the Ai Weiwei
piece?

“If you decide to come out with this kind of project you have to
expect
all kinds of reactions, so we are ready for that. I think that when people
come in they will be addressed very much emotionally. That is what we
actually wanted to initiate – once they are addressed and somehow moved,
they can structure their own opinions and arguments. And this is actually
what culture is obliged to initiate.”

The Ai Weiwei exhibition and a number of other noteworthy shows get
underway at the Trade Fair Palace with the institution’s annual Grand
Opening on Thursday night. However, visitors will have plenty of time to
see Law of the Journey as it will remain in place until January next year.